


Comes in Fifths

by aexis1465



Series: Viktuuri parent au [10]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Depression, Eating Disorders, M/M, Pichit and JJ play small roles in this tw, Self-Harm, Suicide Attempt, if I'm missing tags pls tell me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 21:03:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9344555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aexis1465/pseuds/aexis1465
Summary: They watched as Yuuri tore himself down everyday. They had no idea how to help, Yuuri wouldn't tell them how to help. He'd rather keep it hidden until he couldn't. Then came the point that he couldn't.As far as everyday-life goes, Katsuki Yuuri doesn’t think he could be much worse. With every gold medal- and then last year’s silver- his anxiety worsened. Just when he thought he was over having anxiety attacks before every performance, he was thrown into the deepest pit of his worries.





	

**Author's Note:**

> kotyenok- Kitten in Russian  
> Milaya- sweet in Russian  
> Папа- Papa in Russian  
> Chichi- 父- Dad in Japanese
> 
> If you're keeping track in the series and following the time line, I took Hana out of this because it is a depressing story and I'm not confident enough in my ability to write younger children well enough to not have her character change the tone of the story.

As far as figure skating goes, Katsuki Yuuri was at the top of the world. He had consistant gold medals for two years. During Yuuri’s fourth year, Yuri finally surpassed his father and won the gold. Though Yuuri had no problem being in second place to Yuri, he was happy for him. Regardless, as the years went on, the more pressure there was to perform bigger and better things. 

As far as everyday-life goes, Katsuki Yuuri doesn’t think he could be much worse. With every gold medal- and then last year’s silver- his anxiety worsened. Just when he thought he was over having anxiety attacks before every performance, he was thrown into the deepest pit of his worries. 

But then it wasn’t just performances, it became the smallest problems at home. Bills being paid a day late, running out of milk, or even forgetting to put the towels in the dryer became his biggest nightmare. 

Viktor spent a week convincing Yuuri to go to the doctor and get medication. Yuuri insisted he wouldn’t need it, that it would. 

_“It always goes away,”_ That’s what he said. _”It will, I swear._

Yuri ended up taking him to a doctor. He felt bad about it, but he had made the appointment and tricked Yuuri into going. He knew his father needed help, but he also knew he wouldn’t willingly agree to go. 

The doctor asked a lot of questions and Yuuri gave a lot of answers. Yuri wishes Viktor was there to comfort Yuuri while he was forced to explain his thoughts to a stranger. Instead, he was waiting at Ice Castle for the practice they were meant to be at. 

_[To Папа:] We’re gonna be late, I brought Chichi to a doctor. He is getting meds]_  
_[From Папа:] Tell him I said I’m glad he did it_  
_[From Папа:] Also we can skip practice today, he is going to need a day off_

Yuuri walked out of the building with a prescription for a high dose of anxiety medication. Yuri left with the doctor’s words circling his mind: 

_”Be careful, he shows lots of signs of depression. I don’t want to prescribe him anything because at the moment he seems like he won’t need anything but the anxiety medication. But know there is a chance that he could slip into depression- easily.”_

Then came his fifth Grand Prix Final. 

After a flawless short program, he landed himself in first place- .4 points ahead of Yuri. He was admittedly happier than he had been in months. And he had his first full night of sleep; he wasn’t the least bit worried about what would happen the next day. 

Watching all the skaters execute their Free Skate for the last time was captivating. He loved watching the skaters he has known for years now make it to wear they are now. Phichit has been far from sixth place, Leo and Guang-Hong finally made it to the Grand Prix Finals, and Otabek always near one of the Katsuki-Nikiforov’s on the podium. 

Then it was Yuuri’s turn. 

He skated onto the ice confidently. He looked to the bench where Yuri was receiving his score, he knew they would be rushing to the side of the rink to watch him skate once the music started. 

When the music started, it turned into every other competition they’ve been to. Yuuri started his routine while Viktor and Yuri watched. 

His fifth jump- a triple axel- something he has done a million times without problems. The jump that he always relied on because of how well he could do it, he never had a doubt while performing it. He over rotated the jump, something he has done before, it’s never tripped him up before. Though he didn’t jump high enough, or that’s what the other skaters told him. Yuuri can’t remember the moment and whether that’s selective memory or just a side effect, Yuuri has no idea. 

His foot hit the ground while he over rotated. His skate remained stationary on the ice while his body continued to turn. His left knee twisted, causing him to fall onto the ice. His head banged against the ice, hard enough for his vision to become fuzzy and his hearing to become muted. 

Everyone was silent: the crowd, the judges, and the skaters. Viktor stood frozen next to Yuri. Yuri was the person to break the silence, he was screaming at people to help Yuuri. He could see Yuuri looking at Viktor and himself with apathetic eyes. 

Eventually paramedics skated onto the ice and carried Yuuri away. Viktor rode in the ambulance with Yuuri while Yuri took a cab with Otabek. 

The final scores of the night were:

Yuri Katsuki-Nikiforov  
Otabek Altin  
Phichit Chulanont  
Leo De La Iglesia  
Guang-Hong Ji

Yuuri wasn’t counted because he never finished his routines. No one stood on the podium that night. Yuri and Otabek sat in the hospital waiting room and all of the other skaters were in their hotel rooms, waiting for a text from someone saying Yuuri was going to be okay. It felt like an eternity before they got an answer, and it was the answer nobody wanted. 

_”He’ll be okay. Eventually. But he won’t be allowed to skate again soon. With time he might be able to skate, but he won’t be able to do any jumps or step sequences.”_

Viktor waited until the last possible moment to tell Yuuri he wouldn’t be able to skate anymore. He didn’t want to be the one to bring him the news, but it was better than a stranger telling him. Yuuri already had the idea he wouldn’t be able to skate anymore, but hearing it out loud nearly broke him. 

He stopped eating and when he was forced to eat, he would just throw it all up again. He stopped sleeping, nightmares waited for him. He stopped being a parent. Yuri was nineteen and living with Otabek, but there were still moments he needed Yuuri and Yuuri wasn’t there. The only thing that he seemed to do was sit in bed and watch clips of himself skating. 

Viktor was worried for him. He fought Yuuri to get into the car and he fought him even harder to get him into the doctor’s office. Unlike last time, he refused to speak. Viktor gave every answer while Yuuri glared at him.

Yuuri felt betrayed. Viktor didn’t trust him enough to deal with it on his own. Instead he took him to the last place he wanted to be and made him feel worse with every answer he gave. 

Yuuri walked out of the building with a refill for his anxiety medication, a new prescription for depression medication, and with all hope lost. Viktor left with the instructions to keep an eye on Yuuri because he could become self destructive. 

Which he did. Viktor felt like a monster for not saying anything when he first noticed. He was brushing his teeth while Yuuri showered. He had become distant, he refused to be naked in front of Viktor and he rejected any sign of affection. He must not have heard Viktor walked in because he wasn’t doing anything to his the bright red marks on his hips and thighs. 

Viktor left the bathroom silently. He rummaged through their bedroom for anything that Yuuri could have been using to hurt himself. When he came up with nothing, he went to the kitchen and dirtied all the knives. It was a temporary solution, but Yuuri never had motivation to clean anymore and he was smart enough to not use a dirty blade. He knew Yuuri would be safe until he returned from his practice with Yuri. 

Though he wouldn’t call it a practice. Yuri sat and listened as his father cried for three hours. He let every emotion he’s felt since Yuuri’s diagnosis out. Yuri sat quietly listening to everything. He wasn’t going to burden his father with his feelings on the situation, Viktor had to get his out first. Instead, Yuri would tell Otabek everything later that night while lying next to him in bed. 

Yuri and Viktor took their fifth day of practice off. They went to Viktor’s house where Yuuri was in bed. They walked through the house silently, not wanting to alert Yuuri of their presence. It felt wrong, like they were stalking him like animals, but they needed to know what he did when Viktor wasn’t home. 

The bedroom door was open and Yuuri had his back to them. He looked in the mirror and then down at himself. To Yuri and Viktor he looked deathly thin, he only ate when he absolutely had to, but Yuuri saw himself as disgusting. No matter how many times Viktor tried to convince him he wasn’t, he still saw himself that way. 

Yuri covered Viktor’s mouth as Yuuri punched the mirror in front of him. He could feel Viktor’s tears dripping onto his hand as Yuuri sobbed and picked the shards from his hand. It wasn’t until Yuuri used the last shard to quickly slash his leg that they moved from their position. Yuri stepped out from behind Viktor and ran over to Yuuri. 

“Chichi, no! No,stop!” Yuri sobbed.

He wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s torse, restricting his arm movements. Yuuri dropped the glass out of shock and tried coiling into a ball, but Viktor was holding down his legs. Viktor cried as he dabbed Yuuri’s newest cut with a wet towel. He apologized continuously as swore and screamed at them both to let him be. 

“Get off of me! I don’t want your help, I can do it myself!” 

“Chichi, please just stop. We want to help you.” Yuri dropped his head onto Yuuri’s shoulder. He felt like giving up. He has only known about this for a week and hasn’t been directly dealing with it like Viktor has. Yuri doesn’t know how he does it. 

“ _Milaya_ , you need to let us help. I can’t stand to see you destroy yourself like this. And Yuri doesn’t deserve this, he shouldn’t have to see his father like this.” 

Yuri stopped fighting once Viktor finished his statement. He leant limply against Yuri and cried as Viktor continued to clean the cuts. He bandaged all of them gently before getting Yuri a new shirt and pair of shorts to change into. While he was trying to squirm away from Yuri’s grip, he had reopened the cuts on his hips and bled onto his shirt. 

Yuri spent the rest of the day in bed sobbing. He didn’t say anything. He just lied next to Viktor and Yuri while they talked to him. Yuri talked about his engagement, he and Otabek were trying to keep it quiet, but it wouldn’t hurt to tell his family. Viktor talked about how he saw the cutest puppy the other day and how it reminded him of Makkachin. 

Neither of them dared to bring up the ice rink. 

Things seemed to improve after that point. There were mishaps at times, but Yuuri wasn’t scared to talk to Viktor or Yuri if he needed to. He started eating, sleeping, and Viktor no longer had to force him to take his pills. 

It took almost a month, but Yuuri started going with Viktor to Ice Castle everyday. Viktor was hesitant at first. Yuuri hasn’t gone near the ice since the accident, he wouldn’t even talk about ice. He told Viktor he would find, that he just wanted to see Yuri’s program in person. 

The practice wasn’t anything special. Yuri and Viktor continued their everyday routine while Yuuri watched. 

He didn’t show any desire to get on the ice. Viktor didn’t understand it. Ice skating was Yuuri’s stress reliever. Anything he needed to let out was let out on the ice, but he can’t do it anymore. Instead he stayed in the house by himself doing nothing. Viktor knows he would never be able to do what Yuuri was. 

For Yuri’s first competition, Yuuri stayed home. He wasn’t ready to face the media and the crowd and the other skaters. The next two competitions he went. He wouldn’t say he regrets going, but everything was overwhelming. He wasn’t as prepared as he thought. He stayed home from then on. 

Now it was Yuri’s fifth competition. The last one before the Grand Prix Finals, and the way the season was going, he would definitely have a spot. The competition was Skate America and Yuri was hesitant to let Viktor come. He insisted Viktor should stay home with Yuuri but in the end, Viktor went with. 

At the end of his free skate, he saw Viktor answer his phone. It must have been an emergency if he answered while Yuri was skating. Yuri pulled his thoughts from that and back to his routine. He couldn’t afford to miss any jumps when JJ and Guang-Hong were so close in the rankings. No matter what friendship he held with the other skaters, when he was on the ice, he was there to win. 

Yuri stepped off filled with smiles, but Viktor looked up at him in tears. 

“Папа? What’s wrong?” 

Viktor didn’t answer, instead he pulled Yuri through the crowd of reporters and fans. He had no time to ask questions from the walk from the ice to the taxi Viktor called while he was skating. Viktor just stared at his phone in silence.

“Will you please tell me what’s going on?” Yuri yelled. He was infuriated by his father’s silence. He was dragged out of the competition without hearing his score. He was still in his costume and skates, yet Viktor couldn’t tell him what was going on. He thought he would have the right to know. 

“Папа! Seriously, tell me!” Yuri sighed at the lack of a response. “Did you at least grab my bag from the bench? It had my regular clothes in it.” 

“No.” 

“I- I can’t deal with this right now.” He turns away from Viktor to look out the window of the car. He takes his phone out of his pocket to look through his contacts. If he had any of the skater’s numbers that are at Skate America, they’ll be able to get his bag and possibly their belongings from the hotel to ship them to Japan. 

The only name he had was JJ. As much as he didn’t want to leave his possessions in his hands, he’d rather JJ have them than a stranger. 

[To JJ:] Can you grab my bag from the kiss and cry? Viktor left it there as we stormed out  
[From JJ:] Don’t worry about it, I’ll hold on to it until the next competition. Phichit will be there, I’ll give it to him. He knows your address, so he can send it to you.  
[To JJ:] That was a surprisingly nice text message, I’m impressed. Thanks again, I owe you a favor  
[To JJ:] A small favor.  
[From JJ:] Don’t worry about it.

They went through airport security seemingly easy. The only stop was for Yuri’s skates. He took them off in the cab, not wanting to walk on the blades without the covers for them. Security was hesitant to let him on the plane with what the guard thought was the equivalent of a knife, but they made it through anyway. 

Their 15 hour flight began in a similar fashion to the cab ride- Viktor staring at his phone and Yuri questioning him. Yuri fell asleep for a short period, he was woken up by the flight attendant. She asked if they wanted any snacks or drinks. He politely declined and looked over at Viktor. 

He was finally asleep and his phone was sitting face down in his lap. Yuri cautiously picked it up to not wake Viktor. He typed in the password: 0301. It was Yuri’s birthday and it has been the same password since his sixteenth birthday. 

It opened to a text message from Mari. 

[From Mari:] He woke up for a few minutes, but they had to sedate him.

Attached was the download link to a picture she had sent. Yuri clicked on it with no idea what to expect. Mari didn’t text Viktor often because of the language barrier. Yuuri, Viktor, and Yuri all speak English and broken Japanese or Russian, they have no problem communicating. However, Yuuri’s family only knows Japanese, so when they want to talk, a translator is normally present. 

The picture loaded quickly due to Viktor looking at it before and Yuri almost dropped the phone. 

It was a picture of Yuuri in a hospital room with his arms strapped to the bars on the bed. He had white bandages on his wrists that had small dots of red seeping through. He looked deathly pale, almost blending into the white bed sheets he was lying on. 

“Yuri,” Viktor whispered. Yuri looked up at Viktor who was now awake and staring at him with a mix of fear and empathy. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He was careful to keep his voice down on the plane. 

“I was waiting until we landed. There isn’t a reason for you to worry about it for fifteen hours.” 

“You should have told me,” Yuri said. 

“Well regardless, you know now anyway. Try and get some sleep. We still have a few hours left of the flight.” Viktor grabbed his phone from Yuri’s shaking hands. 

Viktor goes back to sleep in his seat. He leaves the phone face down on his chest so he can feel it vibrate if it goes off. Yuri looks down at his phone and then up at the flight attendant walking back up the aisle. 

“Excuse me, how much is the in-plane wifi?” 

“It’s $15 for the entire trip, but sir, there is only a few hours left. Are you sure you want to purchase it?” She said. 

“Yes, charge it to the whatever card was used for the tickets.” 

“Of course. You’ll be able charged once we land, here is the paper with the information.” She hands him a card before rolling her cart to the back of the plane. 

Yuri quickly types in the information into his phone. His hands are still shaking, so he keeps pressing the wrong numbers and letters. It took three tries to get the password right, and once he did he nearly ran to the bathroom. 

He leant against the sink and used the recent calls tab on his phone to call Otabek without typing in the number. He didn’t feel like explaining to a stranger why he typed in the wrong number. 

“Hello? I was just about to fall asleep, is something wrong?” Otabek answers. He pulls the phone away from his head while he yawns. Yuri doesn’t say anything, but a stifled noise that loosely registered as “Beka” left his mouth.

“Yura? What happened? Is everything alright?” 

“Chichi is- is in the hospital. We- I thought he was getting better! He was happy; he was actually smiling again! Beka, he was finally smiling again,” Yuri cried. 

“Is he okay?” 

“If by okay you mean alive, then yes,” Yuri said. His voice was quieter and he gripped the edge of the sink so tight his knuckles turned white- it took all his strength to not scream into the phone in anger. 

“He tried to kill himself while we were gone. We are on the plane home now, can you meet us at the hospital in two hours? I need you right now.” 

“Of course, kotyenok,” Otabek yawned again. 

“You can take a short nap if you want, I’m going to go back to my seat,” Yuri said. 

“Only if you insist.” 

“It’s fine, go. Love you.” 

“I love you too, Yura,” Otabek said softly. He waited a few seconds to see if Yuri was going to say anything else, but when he didn’t, he hung up. Yuri returned to his seat and, despite being told not to, he took Viktor’s phone again. He reads the messages and looks at the picture of Yuuri until Viktor wakes up to snatch the phone away from him once again. 

~ 

Even in the worst situations, Yuri would prefer to look somewhat decent. However at the moment, he could not find it in his mind to care about all the hospital attendees and staff staring at him. He was still wearing his black costume with colorful splotches on in, but now his skates’ laces were tied together and hung around his neck, and he was wearing a pair of hightop cheetah print shoes Otabek brought for him. 

Since they arrived at the hospital and directed to the psychiatric ward, Yuri has not left Otabek’s side. Otabek stood against the wall with Yuri facing him, crying into his shoulder. Since he grew about three inches taller than Otabek when he turned 17, he had to bend down to have Otabek comfort him, but he didn’t mind. 

“You can only look through this glass, no one but doctors will be allowed in the room for a minimum of three days,” A nurse explains. 

“What? I’m his husband, he needs me! I can help him, just let me see him!” Viktor let the tears run freely down his face. Yuri’s room was in the corner of the long hallway, giving them more privacy than some of the other patients. 

“Sir, we can’t let you in. I’m sorry, but you will just have to wait.” The nurse leaves without listening to whatever else Viktor has to say. She already explained everything, her job was done. 

Apparently Yuuri had taken all of the pills he had left and then cut into his wrists. There was no other signs of injury, but there was suspicion that he hasn’t been eating for nearly two weeks. It didn’t make sense because they were only gone for a few days, but they were too mentally exhausted to question it. 

Viktor stands in front of the window and stares at Yuuri silently. He is sleeping peacefully now, but last they heard they had to sedate him. Who knows what he will be like when he wakes up. 

Otabek sits down on the floor and lets Yuri sit between his legs. He holds his arm firmly around Yuri’s waist and rubs one of his hands up and down his back soothingly. 

“It’ll be okay,” Otabek whispered into his hair before kissing the top of his head. Yuri doesn’t say anything. He leans into Otabek’s chest, squeezes his eyes shut, and hopes this is all in his head even though he knows he isn’t. 

Yuuri woke up in about an hour. Otabek and Yuri were asleep, holding each other tightly. Viktor was still staring with now-bloodshot eyes through the glass. Yuuri didn’t seem to notice him at first, too busy looking down at his restrained arms. Viktor could see him start to cry and he thinks of how he would do anything to be in there to comfort his husband. 

He exhales through his mouth onto the glass, causing a small section to fog up. He shakily draws a heart with his finger before knocking on the glass to get Yuuri’s attention. He looks over like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car. Viktor points to the heart causing Yuuri to cry when he sees what was drawn. 

“I’m sorry,” He said. Viktor was stuck reading his lips, but he still understood the message. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” Viktor mouths back. He holds up his index finger, telling Yuuri to wait a minute. He fogs up the class once again and draws a small stick figure with lines coming from it’s head to make it look angry. 

“Yurio?” Yuuri asks, tilting his head to the side confused. Viktor nods and uses his hands to vaguely gesture speaking. Yuuri nods his head. He doesn’t want Yurio to see the condition he is in right now, but he should at least show him he is okay. 

“Yurio, wake up.” Viktor shakes his shoulder lightly. He tries to avoid waking Otabek, but he is such a lights sleeper, he wakes up anyway. 

“Yuuri is awake and wants to see him, can you wake him up for me? I’m going to get a nurse.” 

Otabek wishes he could say he woke Yuri up lovingly, but in truth, he just stood up. Yuri fell forward and hit his head against the wall. 

“What was that for?” Yuri rubbed his forehead while he stood up. 

“Yuuri is awake, he wants to see you.” 

Yuri rushed over to the window where Yuuri was staring back at him. They had a brief exchange like Viktor’s, but without the window drawings. There wasn’t much they could say with the glass between them, it wouldn’t work for the conversation they would need to have eventually. 

“Go home. Get some sleep.” Yuuri said slowly so Yuri would understand. 

“No.” 

“Not a question,” Yuuri said. “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” Yuri would have stayed to argue, but going home sounded great to him. He was tired, he’s been in his costume for over two hours now, and he needed to sleep in and actual bed- in his bed. 

He turned around and walked out with Otabek, saying “See you later,” as they passed Viktor in the hallway.

The rest of his day is spent in well-appreciated silence. 

~ 

Yuri wakes up abnormally early the next morning. He slips out of bed slowly to avoid waking Otabek up at nearly five in the morning. Otabek doesn’t work anymore and Yuri won’t have to after he retires. After over a decade of competitive skating, they had enough money to last a while. They could get a job as a coach whenever they please, it seems every year more and more junior competitors want them as a coach. But for now, they enjoy their laid-back lives. 

He looked through his kitchen for something he was able to cook. There was lots of food, but Yuri’s cooking skills were not up to par with anyone he knows. He ended up silently eating a bowl of cereal while sitting on the center island of the kitchen. 

[From Папа:] Can you bring paper and something to write with to the hospital? Preferably something colorful to right with  
[To Папа:] Should I even ask? I’ll be there in a few 

He jumps down from the counter and puts his bowl in the sink to wash later. He rips a piece of paper off the small notepad they use for grocery lists and writes a note to Otabek:

“Going to the hospital. You can stay home, I’ll be home later. Love you.” 

He puts the note on the counter next to the coffee machine so he knows Otabek will see it. 

He walks upstairs to get dressed and grab his wallet and keys before walking back downstairs and out of the house. 

His first stop is the store. He can’t say he hates going to the store, buying stuff can be fun, but he can say he _strongly dislikes_ going to the store. Yuri can’t think of one experience where he has gone shopping without getting noticed at least once. Many times, like now, he would just like to run in and then run out, but he knows someone will want to say hi or congratulate him or want a picture. 

He made it all the way to checkout before someone noticed him. The cashier was bagging the copy paper and markers when she just stopped. She looked up at him like he was insane and stared. 

“Is something wrong?” 

“You’re Yuri Plisetsky, right?” She asked. 

“Technically Katsuki-Nikiforov, but yes.” 

“I almost didn’t recognize you with the long hair. I haven’t seen you since I quit skating!” 

“Do I know you?” He hands her the money he owes. 

“Oh no, I was just a big fan when I was younger. I tried ice skating, twisted my ankle, and then decided it wasn’t for me. I lost most of my interest, I really only watch the winter olympics when they come around. I thought I saw you there, but you weren’t competing,” She said. 

“It was Otabek’s last competition so I was there. I decided not to skate because I stopped practicing for a while after the Grand Prix.” She hands back his bag and his change. 

“Well, it was really cool to see you. I hope I get to see you again!” 

“You too.” He takes his bag and leaves the store. 

The drive to the hospital was thankfully short. He doesn’t know how much longer he could take the constant buzzing of his phone from Viktor’s messages asking why he was taking so long. He texted he was almost there when he parked the car. 

It only took a few minutes to reach Yuuri’s room. Viktor was sitting in a chair that Yuri doesn’t remember being there yesterday, reading a note Yuuri was holding up to the window. He waves at Yuuri who smiles back at him.

“Here’s your stuff.” He hands over the plastic bag. “What’s all this?” 

“The nurse felt bad we couldn’t talk so she got him some paper and crayons from the kids’ waiting room for him to write. He gets out tomorrow around noon, the doctor said I would still need to watch him for a while though.” 

“What were you just reading?” 

“He was telling me why he did it and how he couldn’t be more sorry about it,” Viktor said. 

“Oh.” 

“Something about seeing me upset made him guilty, but seeing you upset made everything hit him. He thought no one would care, that I would have expected it, but he didn’t factor you in because you were competing so you’d have bigger things to worry about. He saw you crying- he described it as something inside him broke. Depression and anxiety are still pretty bad, but he wants to get better. He has been taking all of his meds without fighting back,” He explained. 

“That’s great!” Yuuri opens the package of paper and markers, grabbing one of each. 

_I’m glad we can finally talk! How has your day been?_

_As well as it can be sitting in this boring room. But let’s not talk about that. I heard the nurses talking about your competition earlier, you won first! They were going to give your medal to the guy in second place, but the skaters argued to let you keep your medal. I’m really proud of you!_

_Winning doesn’t much matter, I’m glad you’re doing better! <3_ After ‘you’re’ was “okay” scratched out so it was unreadable. He knew his father wasn’t completely okay, but he was doing better so it’s more appropriate to say doing better. 

Yuri lets Viktor go back to passing notes while he draws a small picture for Yuuri. It’s not much, just his name spelled out with some designs behind it. On the back he wrote “to make your room a little less boring <3”. He slid it under the door when none of the nurses were looking. 

“If you get him in trouble-” 

“Oh shut up, it’s fine,” Yuri said. 

_Thank you so much, I love it! <3 _Yuuri pressed his paper against the glass. 

_I have to go to practice now, but I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah? Love you._ Yuuri nodded once he read it, mouthing back “I love you too.” 

“You should stay with him while he recovers. I’ll have Otabek be my new coach so you can help Chichi,” Yuri said. 

“What? No it’s-” 

“Not up for debate,” Yuri interrupted. “It’ll be fine. I have to go now.” 

He walks back down the hallway before Viktor gets a chance to argue. When he gets in the elevator he dials Otabek’s number quickly from memory. 

“Hello?” He said faintly. 

“Did you just wake up?” 

“Yeah, it’s only eight,” He said. “But what did you need?” 

“Go to Ice Castle, you’re my coach now.” 

“What?” Otabek’s voice was louder and clearer than before. 

“You’re my coach now. Папа is going to stay with Chichi while he get better.” 

“I don’t know the first thing about coaching!” 

“You’ll be fine,” Yuri said. “There is only the Grand Prix Finals left next weekend.” 

“Which is the most important event to have a good coach!” He exclaims. 

“All you have to do it point out what I do wrong and what I do well for the next week and a half. Then at the competition you’ll give a shitty pep talk, watch me perform, and then wait in the kiss and cry with me to hear my score. The only difference it is to just watching me skate is the criticism and the pep talk. Everything will be fine.” 

“Whatever, I’ll be at the rink in twenty minutes.” 

“Make it ten, a coach is never late,” Yuri laughs. 

“Why don’t you tell Viktor that? Alright, I’m going to get ready, I’ll meet you there.” 

“Okay, I love you,” 

“Obviously not by sticking me with this coaching deal,” Otabek complains. “Love you too.” 

~

The next day, Otabek and Yuri drive to Viktor and Yuuri’s house at 5 for dinner. Yuri was scared of what Viktor would cook, but he was relieved when he saw three pizza boxes sitting on the table. He grabs a piece before leaving the room.

In the living room, Yuuri was lying on top of Viktor sleeping on the couch. Yuri sat down on the chair and waved Otabek over. 

“Where am I meant to sit?” 

“My lap, obviously. If they get to be grossly cute, we do too,” Yuri said before grabbing Otabek’s waist and pulling him onto his lap. 

“This is embarrassing.” 

“It’s cute,” Yuuri yawned. “I didn’t know you were coming.” 

“I told you yesterday at the hospital?” 

“It’s his medicine,” Viktor said. “He is forgetting things easily and sleeping; he’s been sleeping all day.” 

The room fell into a comfortable silence. Yuuri was slowly falling back asleep while Viktor looked at something on his phone. Otabek was switching between instagram and the news on his phone with one hand while Yuri played with his fingers on the other. 

“You have long fingers,” Yuri said absentmindedly. 

“I’ve never heard you complain about it.” 

“Oh my god, I’m still awake in the room!” Viktor exclaimed quietly as to not wake Yuuri. “ _Anyway_ , when do you guys leave for the Grand Prix Finals?” 

“Haven’t thought about it truthfully,” Yuri said. “We still have over a week, but it wouldn’t hurt to go early.” 

“We could leave on Saturday, make it a vacation,” Otabek suggests. 

“I would need the practice for the week leading up to it though. What if we go a few days early like Thursday? They’ll have the rink open for a few hours per skater to practice on Friday, then Saturday would be the competition. And stay the following week for a vacation?” 

“That’s a better plan,” Viktor said. “He needs all the practice he can get.” 

“Fight me old man.” 

“Yurio, careful, you’ll offend your father.” Yuuri mumbled. “He just about cries when I bring up his age.” 

“You are the worst, Katsuki,” Viktor laughs. 

“That’s Katsuki-Nikiforov to you.” Yuuri maneuvers himself and Viktor in a way that Viktor is nearly falling off the couch and Yuuri is fit snugly between his husband and the back of the couch. “When you go to skate, win for the both us, will you?” 

“Of course Chichi.” 

~

Yuri skates off the ice of his fifth Grand Prix Final in tears. His last performance of that particular free skate routine and he could not be happier with the outcome. Everything went to plan, there was no room for improvement. 

He clung to Otabek all the way to the kiss and cry. 

“I’m so proud of you Yura,” Otabek whispered after kissing Yuri. He wasn’t one for showing affection in public, but Yuri deserved it after his routine. 

When he was announced in first place he felt more pride than he did after winning his first gold. It was his third gold medal, but he felt more of a sense of accomplishment with this one. 

He skated onto the ice with Phichit in second place and JJ in third behind him. He was already on the phone with Yuuri, listening to his father ramble about how happy he was for him. 

Yuri felt like he was on top of the world. 

~

The Monday after the competition, Yuri was awake early sitting in a jewelry shop. The medal was heavy in his pocket. He preferred not wearing his medal for days after the competition unlike Viktor. Viktor liked to show off and present himself as the winner whereas Yuri would rather enjoy the fame the night he won and then let life continue as normal afterwards.  
“You have an appointment for something?” The only worker at the store asked. She showed no sign of recognizing Yuri. 

“Uh- not exactly. I was hoping to get something engraved real quick; is that possible?” 

“Considering it’s early and no one should be here for a while, I’m sure it’s doable. What do you need engraved.” 

“This.” He pulls his medal out of his pocket and sets it on the counter gently. It was already engraved with his name, but he wanted Yuuri’s on there as well. 

“Oh wow, I’ve never engraved a medal before. What’d you get this for?” 

“The skating competition last night,” He said. “I need Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov engraved under what’s already there.” 

“It already says that.” 

“Yeah, I know. I need Yuri spelled with two ‘u’s and the last name would be spelled the same.” 

“Write it on this card.” She flipped a business card over and handed him a pen. He looked up at her confused. “I know what you’re requesting, but for liability reasons, you still need to write it down.” 

He wrote it down in his neatest handwriting considering his normal script was barely legible, and handed the card back to her. 

“It’ll be about twenty minutes if you’d like to wait here, I’ll be back when I’m done.” 

He nods his head and takes the seat he was sitting in previously. He spent and hour scrolling through his twitter. He replied to some tweets from his fans and the other skaters. Twitter didn’t interest him much, but Phichit made him get one when they first met. 

“Here you go.” The worker walked back into the room. He thanked and paid her in the matter of a few minutes before putting the medal back into his pocket. He left the store with a final thank you. 

His next stop would be at the nearest post office. He sent off his medal in a small box sent through priority mail. He had to argue with the clerk. She said he shouldn’t be shipping something so valuable, that it could easily be lost. He said he had faith that it would arrive without a problem. The package should arrive on Yuuri’s doorstep tomorrow. 

He can’t say he has ever been happier to get rid of a medal.

**Author's Note:**

> I take prompts for this au, my pliroy au, and yuri on ice in genreal, please feel free to comment with any ideas or headcanons you'd like to see in a story!! ((btw you can message me on tumblr @aexis1465 if you want to talk headcanons or anything, I love hearing ideas! <3))  
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! <333


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